Pound in the trolley?

[DingleyDel]

Having a slightly drunken argument with dh. We are both early 30s. He swears that a staple memory of his childhood was putting a pound in the supermarket trolley, IN ALL SUPERMARKETS!! I swear this was never a thing until Aldi and Lidl arrived in the U.K. I swear I remember news articles about how great they were but you had to have a pound for the trolley, it was so notable. I don’t remember ever putting a £ in the trolley in my childhood. I grew upon the SE, Dh in the SW. was it really a common thing in the 90s?

YABU pound in the trolley was completely normal

YANB pound in the trolley was introduced by Lidl/ Aldi

Yeah they were in all the trolleys otherwise they'd end up in the canal. Also SW

I can't remember doing it, they were just lined up outside

80's kid here. Definitely a thing although I think it was a 20p

I remember when it was 20p.

I first came across it in Gateway /Somerfield/Asda at Clapham Junction in SW London when they opened in 1987 or so.

You had to put £1 in ‘Kwik Save’ trolleys & that was in the early 80’s

He's right

I remember this, as far back as the 90s, my mum had one of those charity trolley coins fairy early on
Now, I have a gadget to release most trolleys, on my car keys.

I’m in the SW and I remember groups of teens hanging around in the 80s offering to take trolleys back for people so they could pocket the cash.

I think you're both wrong. Some of the big 4/5, way before I'd ever heard of Aldi/Lidl, but not all.

Our Asda had them until COVID I think, on the smaller trolleys only.

I think I was an adult when I first encountered a trolley that needed money to release it. 🤷‍♀️
I'm in my 50s

@DramaAlpaca

I'm in my 50s. Putting a coin in a trolley depended on the area where the supermarket was. In nicer areas you didn't need a coin, in not so nice areas you did. I think it did become more widespread after Aldi/Lidl appeared on the scene.

This is what I suspected. I think I grew up in a much posher place than dh

When the first supermarket opened in my home town they had a sign that said "Please take a basket" so (according to my late DM) shoppers did as they thought they were a free gift!

Other than that I have no idea when coins in trolleys started.

@DingleyDel You are wrong. It was a thing way before Aldi and Lidl.

I remember it from Sainsburys in the 1980s.

Ok, seems I am definitely BU! What a sheltered upbringing I had. I was so sure dh had confused time!

I was a customer services manager in Sainsburys from late 80s until 1995, definitely no coins needed for trollies. This was in a Somerset town, not sure if it was different in inner cities.

It wasn't a thing around here (West Mids) until the early 2000s at a guess. Sains/Tesco/Asda definitely didn't have them until relatively recently.

Reading the replies it must be depending on the location then

Sainsbury’s in 1991 had £1s in store where it was a planning requirement such as beckenham but not in most of the country

I am an expert on the 1990s supermarket trolley. AMA

I wonder if all these £1 trolleys were in the same somerset town near a river/canal!!!!

I worked at Sainsburys in 2001-2006ish. We definitely didn't have coins! I remember them coming in after I'd left, the whole kiosk queue was people asking for a coin!

@DobbyTheHouseElk

I wonder if all these £1 trolleys were in the same somerset town near a river/canal!!!!

Ha yes I do wonder!

I’ve just thought about it again. I never did it as a student or young adult either, except for Aldi or lidl. So I’m just wondering how I completely avoided it for most of my life yet dh says it was completely common place….so weird!

You still need them in Sainsbury’s and M&S where I live (pretty affluent city in the South West). Our Aldi, Tesco and Waitrose don’t.

@DobbyTheHouseElk

I wonder if all these £1 trolleys were in the same somerset town near a river/canal!!!!

Well there are still always loads of trollies found in the rivers and canals of my Somerset town. Which town are you thinking of?

Early 30s & West Midlands our local sainsburys definitely had coins in trolleys i think it was always £1
It was next to a canal & it stopped so many ending up there!

I can remember going to my mates after uni (SE) & she was completely confused when i asked if she wanted a pound/ trolley dolley 😂